


Of Heroes and Men

by Newtdew25



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: A few of the others also make cameo references, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Marijuana, Midterms and Exams, Modern Era, Mostly the stress, Pre-Relationship, Stress Relief, Those two are mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 18:18:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20980286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newtdew25/pseuds/Newtdew25
Summary: David is just about at the end of his rope as he tries to study for his midterms. Heroes, however, don't always have superpowers. Sometimes they just have baked goods and impeccable timing.





	Of Heroes and Men

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in one sitting and on an impulse, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

A wisened and surreptitious author once said that “A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.” On any other day, David would find himself inclined to agree. He’d always had a great deal of respect for writers who managed to intertwine wisdom and wit in their works.

However, as he looked down out of the window of his study room at the floors of students frantically flipping through notebooks and clicking through slides, David felt that the library was much more like a tower that kept him high and away from the rest of the world.  _ “And given that my hair is getting pretty unruly, I only feel even more like Rapunzel,”  _ he mused as he twirled a few strands around his finger. 

To be fair, the isolation was his own choice. David didn’t do well with study groups despite Specs and Tommy Boy inviting him to join them in Romeo’s dorm room. When he was alone with his notes and textbooks, he could concentrate more easily. Or so he thought. Now, he just felt that he was drowning in terms and definitions that he could no longer wrap his head around.

Frustration didn’t quite fit what David was feeling. If anything, it was more along the lines of confusion. A sense of loss, perhaps. Throughout elementary and high school, he had always managed to ace his tests and assignments by boarding himself up in his bedroom for hours on end. Sure, it had meant a childhood largely devoid of friends and relentless bullying from his peers, but David had graduated top of his class and was now studying journalism at New York University, so it was all worth it.

Right?

He wasn’t so sure at this point. While he wasn’t failing, he wasn’t achieving as high a GPA as he was expecting. David had read about this over the summer before he began his first year, how even stellar high schoolers couldn’t possibly expect to get consistent 100s and As across the board. That didn’t take away from the guilt he felt boiling in the lower part of his stomach whenever he got back a paper or a quiz with a 70 or 75 attached to it.  _ “Good, but not good enough.” _

David must have been up here for longer than he realized since his studying playlist had looped back to the song he’d started off with. The famous finale of the William Tell Overture, a joke that he had put in as a means of motivation, was now seemingly mocking him as he slumped over one of his notebooks, barely stirring. Despite the orchestral score being just barely audible from his earbuds, David didn’t catch the knocking on the door behind him.

“Knock knock!” said the voice out loud as the door opened up. “Earth to Davey! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, but you weren’t picking up and Specs said you’d be up here and- Woah, everything okay?” Out of the corner of his eye, David could see a very blurry looking Jack who, to his credit, was appropriately overwhelmed by all the books and papers towering around the both of them.

After sitting back up straight and cracking his neck, David scooched his chair back to properly face his friend. “Well, apart from my sanity running low and the fact that I can see my words floating in the air, everything’s just fine…” He chuckled half-heartedly, as if he was trying to convince himself more than Jack. 

As he took a moment to properly look him over, David realized that Jack was in the same boat, albeit in his own way. His clothes seemed to have fresh paint and charcoal stains on them, his fingers more ink than skin. As a freelance artist, Jack didn’t have midterms to deal with, but he had a tendency to take on more projects than he could realistically handle at once. If he was feeling some kind of burnout, he was skilled at hiding it. 

“Sorry for not answering,” Davey sighed as he picked up his phone for the first time in what was likely hours. “Was there something you needed?” He took notice of the backpack that Jack had placed in the corner of the room, a marked departure from his usual messenger bag.

The other man shook his head as he unzipped the top pouch of the bag, pulling out a container of cookies and setting it out just underneath a “No food or drink” sign. “Well, I figured that you could use a break from all the studying that you’ve been putting yourself through.” Jack gestured to a cardboard cup carrier he’d set down on one of the free spots of David’s workspace. “I hope I got your order right; it’s been a while since we last got coffee together.”

David noted that there was a certain wistfulness in Jack’s voice, but decided against commenting on it as he took the cup he offered. “Earl Grey,” he murmured, inhaling the pleasant aroma before taking a small sip. “And lavender! Jack, you remembered!”

“Yup!” Jack was practically beaming as he held up his own cup. “Steamed milk too; the London Frog!”

For the first time in that whole week, David cracked a genuine smile. “ _ Fog, _ ” he corrected Jack, giving the other man a pat on the shoulder. “But really, thank you for this, and- are those macadamia nut cookies?” 

As he leaned out of his chair to get them, Jack put his index finger up. “You can have a cookie as soon as you join me-” He stepped away to put his cup down and pull a large blanket out of his bag. “-on the floor!” Much to David’s surprise and amusement, Jack unrolled it and spread it out until it covered the entirety of the study room floor. He only emphasized his statement by taking out some pillows and flopping down on them.

“You’re a menace to your species,” David teased as he got up from his chair and sat down beside Jack. “But this does seem like more fun than rereading my notes.” He took another grateful sip of his tea as he settled into the plush pillow at his back. Somehow, the room had gone from cold and imposing to warm and inviting.  _ This  _ was how David felt a library should be like; a cozy place to lose yourself in a book, a manor for exploring worlds that exist beyond the reaches of one’s imagination.

Of course, having the human furnace known as Jack Kelly beside him contributed greatly to his relaxed state.

“Cookie?” Jack asked as he held out the tupperware container he’d brought. While David was eager to have one, he took a moment to split it into two and offer a half to his friend. “Aw, Dave, you’re a sweetheart!”

David couldn’t fight the blush that overtook his face; Jack’s poking of his face certainly didn’t help the situation. “Now this is the Davey I like seeing most, the relaxed, cuddly Davey…” He ran a hand through his friend’s hair and kissed the top of his head. “Don’t this feel a lot better than sitting in that chair, reading until your eyes pop out?”

“Hey, I like reading until my eyes pop out,” David mumbled in protest, allowing Jack to pull him up against his chest. “But only when it’s stuff I actually enjoy reading, like Walt Whitman or Jules Verne.”

“And that Kerouac guy the one time you got cross-faded at my place…”

“ _ On the Road _ was literally written on drugs!” David retorted, struggling to keep his laughter in check. “So I thought that if I read it while under the influence, I’d find some deeper connection to it! Except all I got out of that was a nasty hangover in the morning…”

Jack went quiet as he looked down at the man in his lap. “Was that all you got out of that night, Davey?” He bit his lower lip as he searched his friend’s eyes for something that David felt he should have remembered. “Don’t you remember when we…”

There was a brief pause as David racked his brain, trying to recall the events of that night. There was the weed, the copious amounts of alcohol, Albert bringing Finch into a closet that both of them were much too lanky to fit into, and…

And…

\---

They were just like this in Jack’s basement. The blanket was the exact same as the one they cuddled under that night, albeit much cleaner smelling. David just barely remembered how Jack was holding him as he babbled about flying to the moon and finding the meaning of life. “You’re just like Peter Parker,” he said as Jack looked down at him, their faces lined up so that David got a perfect view of his best friend’s lips.

“Does that make you my Mary Jane or my Gwen Stacey?” Jack laughed fondly as he cupped David’s face with one hand. Despite the clouds in both of their minds, he knew that he wanted nothing more than to be here in this moment with David.

“Neither… I’m your Davey,” the man on the floor answered as he leaned up to kiss Jack. Although he was caught off guard, Jack managed to regain his balance and kiss David back properly. Their lips moved together as gracefully as two drunk, high young adults’ lips could, which was to say with as much grace as a newborn giraffe attempting to dance ballet. Yet it was driven by pure emotion and pent-up yearning since the end of their high school days.

Though they were interrupted by Spot’s announcement that he was the designated driver and thus responsible for taking David home, the latter had promised that they’d continue their “impromptu basement date” another time.

\---

“My Peter Parker,” David finally answered, a tear welling up in one eye as he met Jack’s gaze once again. “Here to save me from the terrible super-villain of midterm stress…”

Jack shook his head as he leaned down, being the one to connect them this time. “I’m your Jack,” he replied, his breath ghosting David’s lips before they resumed that long overdue kiss. Their beverages became lukewarm as they spent the rest of the day on the floor, content to cuddle in their makeshift sanctuary. While no superhero, real or fictional, could defeat the midterm that awaited David at the end of the month, he was happy to at least have an escape in Jack Kelly.

**Author's Note:**

> Any comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
